Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (18 page)

“
But if the chance presents itself
…”
Ceriden’s face was hard with anger.
“
The idea is sound.
”

“Any news of the seventh Destroyer?” Lucy asked. “The Trickster?”

“
Help us,
”
Cheyne said
, speaking as if she hadn’t heard Lucy at all.
“
Time is running out. We need information. If we don
’
t stop Gorgoroth, he will have our world.
”

The queen of the witches seemed at the end of her tether. After a few more minutes the meeting ended. I waited as Lucy scooted off without a word, and ignored Belinda. I had been expecting my d
aughter to flounce off
and it suited my plans.

I laid a hand on the pale, thin arm of the woman next to me.

Mai, the vampire.

I said,
“
Tell me all about Shades.
”

Later, I stood staring out my bedroom window into the night-filled garden and across the windswept grounds. I was alone with my thoughts. A gust of wind rattled the window and I focused on the one thing that had tiptoed past me over the last few days.

The change in my daughter.

My head was in a crazy place. It was impossible. Mai, in her respectful way, had actua
lly explained more than I
needed to know. A vampire’s shade, she told me, was a willing life-partner. One prepared to accept that the blood they shared with the vampire was much more than an impulse, or fun, or experiment, or for ecstasy. It was the exchange of
pure
life itself.
S
hared
life. A vampire would create a
blood-bond with his shade
and
be loyal
to that bond throughout the shade
’
s entire life. A shade would always be aware that they would never become a vampire, but the union they shared with their life-partner was as deep as anything you could imagine. Pure love. Pure dependence. Pure existence.

And Lucy was fascinated by this? So it seemed.

I gritted my teeth in frustration. After a second I exited my room and walked a few steps down the hushed corridor. I knocked quietly on Lucy‘s door.

A muffled voice said,
“
Go away.
”

“
Lucy,
”
I said, trying to keep emotion from my voice.
“
I need to see you.
”

The door opened. Lucy stood there, eyes red, looking more vulnerable that I
’
d seen her since that night in the hospital bed.

I didn’t know where to start, or what to say. It was one of those moments when you needed the absolute perfect words bu
t I couldn’t find a single one.

“
I love you, Lucy,
”
I
said and m
y heart rate tripled.

“Don’t leave me,
”
she said.
“
Just please don
’
t ever leave me.
”

I fixed her with a stare and a promise.
“
I am not your
mother,
Lucy. I will never leave you, kid
.
”

“
I
’
m not a kid,
”
she snuffled
, and I knew I
’
d got through to her.

“
I know,
”
I said.
“
I know. When
’
s your birthday again? I forget.
”

Amidst the banter, and the next ho
ur of father-daughter fun
I managed to put aside the intensifying demands on both our lives and our relationship.

It almost felt like we were a family again.

2
6

YORK, ENGLAND

Our training intensified now to an exhausting level
. E
ven Ken Hamilton stopped the wisecracks. When we broke for lunch I chose to eat in the garden, sitting on one of the wooden benches with my new friend, Eleanor

“
What do you make of it?
”
I said, around a mouthful of sandwich.

She had noticed a change in me.

“I believe
you are blessed with a
linked
power. In other words, there is another you can
link to,
and the bond created will hold colossal power. Apart, you are quite
strong;
together yo
u would comple
ment each other and create. . .
catastrophic
magic
. The
linked
ones have
enormous p
o
tential
,
power
like the Old Ones once had. The magic to work wonders
, to create
and
destroy. You two- will be our vanguard.
”

Catastrophic magic?
Jesus.

I almost asked
with
whom
?
But the awe in Eleanor
’
s eyes stopped me. Clearly it was one of the Eight still out there. I hoped and prayed it hadn’t been Matt Black.

It also struck deep when I realised I would be letting
so many
people down
badly. I turned away, embarrassed, and noticed Lysette seated on a
bench across the garden
. Unsurprisingly, Giles was by her side. They seemed deep in conversation and were almost,
almost,
touching.

Eleanor had said a little more.
“
I think that with
this other’s arrival your complementary powers will
be unleashed.
”
she smiled
.
“
It is a
very
interesting time.
”

I shook my head. I looked around the garden, at Ken using his surfer-dude dialogue to impress Belinda, at Kisami standing alone in the midst of a group, unable to communicate, and I thought
if we don’t all join together, we will all die apart.
And I meant everyone, not only the Chosen. Everyone.

27

YORK, ENGLAND

And still m
ore training.
M
ore scouring of my inhibitions. By the time we finished for the day the sky was turning from russet gold to patchy black, and the limited power inside me was almost available on tap.

Almost.

And it didn’t change anything, I thought. It’s like the
r
ookie
cop
who emulates every
precinct
record on the practice range.
You p
ut that rook
ie face to face with a
desperate criminal on a stormy night in a filthy alley, alone and tired.
Then t
alk to me about your
records
.

So far, I couldn
’
t conjure anything by will alone. It had to be forced out of me by making me upset, or
angry. Eleanor pointed out
it might take a true lif
e-or-death situation to
ignite the fire within me.

Lucy had joined the train
ing session when it became
more physical, much to my surprise and grudging approval. Eleanor had insisted that we needed to be able to handle ourselves in physical combat. It made sense. Lucy seemed to enjoy herself, and
grinned at me
whilst she trained. I had s
o far refused to take her to a
boxing gym. Revenge, I thought, made her smile that much sweeter.

Now, as the sun went down and the day died, Lucy, Belinda, Felicia, and Holly sat around the table as I struggled to make enough peach and pear smoothie to serve us al
l. Then
Myleene walked into the kitchen. Her crisp business suit look
ed uncharacteristically
rumpled and her hair was all over the place. We all smiled at each other, but I don
’
t think our sharply dressed leader even noticed.

“
Conference room in ten minutes,
”
she said
.
“
Belinda. Felicia. And you Logan. No one else.
”

Myleene backed out, leaving us blinking and staring after her in confusion.

****

Ten minutes later I was sat on the back row, facing the video screens. We were like a bunch of people gathered to watch a movie. All we needed was
a heap
of butter popcorn and a large diet coke. A few others joined us, including Ceriden,
Lysette,
Devon Summers and Geoffrey Giles.

I wondered at the choice of people.

I didn
’
t have to wonder for
long. Myleene swept in, flicked a speck of imaginary dust off her finely tailored shoulder, and came over to stand near us. Eleanor was with her, a glint of concern in her dark eyes.

“
Because we cannot trust everyone,
”
Myleene said in a regretful voice.
“
We have to choose the most trustworthy amongst us. What we have to say goes no further than this room. Anyone who doesn
’
t agree can leave now.
”

She paused. No one moved. I felt my
heart
beat faster as I
realized
I was considered a member of the inner circle. Did I really want this?

Myleene said,
“
First, we have no idea as to the
traitor’s
identity. If nothing turns up soon I will ask Lysette Cohen to do her devious best, and read everyone
’
s mind. Not a pleasant prospect, I know, but her power has deliberately been concealed from almost everyone at the house. It is a road we do not want to travel, people, but one we may be forced to take.
”

There were a few murmurs of agreement. It didn
’
t
scare me that Lysette
could
read my mind. She would sense my doubts, but maybe that was a good thing. I supposed that
’
s one of the reasons I was in this room.

A half-smile ghosted around Myleene
’
s lips.
“
And now for the good news.
”
she paused.

Ceriden grunted.
“
Wait, wait, I know. Cl
ooney got here early.
”

Felicia said,
“
Don
’
t tease us, Myleene. Just get on with it.
”

“
First, to Logan and Devon I
’
d like to say that there are more
species of
Uber than we have led you to believe. We did not hide this deliberately, but simply because of time constrictions.
”

“
Time
remains
an issue,
”
Giles growled, checking his watch.

“
Relax. A member of Cheyne’s coven came up with a wonderful idea. That we should enlist the help of the
Gargoyle.
”

I scratched my head.
“
As in those ugly concrete statues that stick out from half the buildings in York?
”
I asked
.
“
How the hell could they help us?
”

“
They
listen.
”
Myleene told me with a wink.
“
Unmoving, unseeing, they are inhabited by an old
,
unloved spirit
. This spirit was banished in
ancient days, but allowed to exist because he isn
’
t at all malevolent. Just solitary. So they gave him a habitat. And built millions of statues in his own image to let him roam at will. Now he inhabits all of them, his vast conscience able to pick up
any sound at all.
”